PFERD was recently featured in the August 2018 edition of FAB Shop Magazine Direct. The article interviews PFERD brush product manager Imre Karetka, who speaks about the importance of deburring, the various deburring options available, and the role of deburring and surface conditioning in automation, which maximizes efficiency in industries that deal with high production volumes on a daily basis, particularly the automotive industry.

In machining terminology, a “burr” refers to a rough edge or ridge on a metal workpiece that remains after the action of a cutting tool or grinding machine. Typically unavoidable byproducts of the machining process, burrs can be problematic if left on the final product. Deburring, as its name suggests, is the process by which burrs are removed, ensuring a smooth and consistent surface finish.

Haven’t read the article yet? Below, we’ll provide an overview of the key takeaways and offer insight into some of PFERD’s deburring solutions.

The Importance of Deburring

Few industries impose stricter safety demands than the automotive industry. Automobile parts and components must be designed to meet stringent specifications and tight tolerances; deburring is a critical manufacturing step to ensure adherence to these requirements.

Internal automobile parts are constantly moving to keep a vehicle functioning smoothly. As Mr. Karetka points out in the FAB Shop article, burrs left behind during manufacturing can break off during operation, resulting in metal flakes flowing within the vehicle’s internal mechanisms. Foreign objects in the transmission, for example, will negatively affect the vehicle’s overall performance and present several safety hazards.

Mr. Karetka also discussed deburring tools as a means of automotive component surface conditioning, such as for camshafts. Bearings, called journals, must be properly finished to facilitate the flow of lubricant onto the camshaft. Improper surface preparation results in lack of lubrication and accelerated wear of metal parts, which causes overheating and seizing of the engine.

Creating Customized Deburring Solutions

Primarily focusing on deburring applications in automation, the article noted that many industries, especially automotive, regularly mass produce parts and components as part of their daily operations. This production process, however, can present unique challenges.

First, conventional manual deburring methods are often inadequate due to time constraints and increased cost of manual labor. Second, space constraints in some facilities can limit the size of brushes that can be used in automated deburring and surface preparation techniques.

To overcome these challenges, PFERD partners with industrial CNC and robotic OEMs to develop customized deburring solutions for specific applications. Our team also configures the grit and wire sizes, increasing them as required to maintain deburring efficiency while minimizing equipment and tool size.

Tackling Deburring Challenges in Automation

At PFERD, we understand that unique situations call for different deburring solutions. To address these different use cases, we offer a range of automated solutions to meet the requirements of almost any industry including:

Abrasive brushes –Available with various abrasive materials including aluminum oxide, silicon carbide and ceramic oxide, M-BRAD® brushes are suitable for surface conditioning on a variety of materials including wood, glass, and most metals and alloys.

Carbide burrs – Known in the industry for precision, consistency, and concentricity, our carbide burrs are designed for deburring machined holes in metals of virtually any composition or strength. A range of general-purpose burs – as well as material and application specific burs – gives users choices for the optimum solution for their specific application

With more than 200 years of experience in the business, PFERD has established itself as an industry leader providing single-source cutting, grinding, and finishing solutions for many specialty applications. In addition to our standard catalog offering, our team of engineers and technical staff has the experience and expertise to develop customized deburring and surface conditioning solutions to meet customer project-specific requirements. We work closely with clients at every stage of the design process to ensure that our products exceed expectations.

To learn more about deburring automation, check out our recent feature in FAB Shop Magazine Direct. If you’d like to speak with a member of our team for more information on PFERD’s automated deburring and surface finishing services, contact us today.

Almost any operation involving metal cutting, fabricating, or machining requires secondary processing steps. Removal of weld seams, raised edges, jagged shards, and other imperfections can undermine the part’s performance and detract from its appearance.

With PFERD’s high performance carbide burs, however, manufacturers can easily perform any needed machining while ensuring that their products receive as smooth a finish as possible.

Because they’re designed with particular materials and applications in mind, PFERD’s high performance carbide burs can significantly increase productivity and reduce manufacturer’s operating costs without sacrificing performance.

Application Considerations

In addition to burs designed for work on specialized materials, PFERD’s high performance range includes carbide burs designed to suit specific applications.

Type

Works best with…

Ideal for…

MICRO Cut

Automated OR handheld machining

Precision applications, high-quality finish

EDGE Cut

Versatile handheld edge profiling

Precise, guided work on edges

Chamfering, deburring and edge breaking/rounding

Steel and aluminum construction

TOUGH cut

High-impact applications that typically result in chattering and broken bur teeth

Tough operating conditions in shipyards and foundries

Established outside of Cologne in 1799, PFERD has supplied manufacturers with premium metalworking solutions for hundreds of years. In 1942, PFERD was granted their first patent on a “rotary milling cutter”, which later evolved into our present-day line of carbide burs. Over the centuries, PFERD has been committed to offering high quality “single-source” solutions for grinding, cutting, hand finishing, and specialty applications.

Regardless of your industry or application, our high-performance burs can help you achieve maximum productivity and cost effectiveness in your machining process.

CAST Cut for Cast Iron: Provides very good chip removal, up to 100% when compared with conventional cross cut burs, with significantly increased aggressiveness. Less vibration and noise leads to smooth milling operation.

ALU/NF Cut for Aluminum and Non-Ferrous metals: ideally suited for coarse machining, these burs generate high stock removal in material such as aluminum, aluminum alloys, copper, bronze, and brass.

Application specific burs that deliver unique benefits in the areas of increased productivity are also included in the high performance program:

EDGE cut for Edge Profiling: A complete system that is ideal for edge beveling, radiusing, and chamfering that saves time in process piping, plumbing, and pump design applications.

MICRO cutfor high surface finish : Ideal for both hand-held and automated machining tasks, this unique solutions combines good stock removal and a very fine surface finish, reducing labor time in secondary finishing applications.

Our goal at PFERD is to offer “single-source” solutions for hand finishing, grinding, cutting, and specialty applications. With this High-Performance line of carbide burs, we offer material-specific burs that result in increased productivity and user comfort.

You can witness more of our burs in action in on our YouTube channel

Contact us to learn more about PFERD’s full range of products and services.

For heavy-duty applications in shipyards, foundries and steel construction, PFERD has developed two new special cut patterns for its tungsten carbide burs.

The new 3R and 3RS cuts represent a new PFERD product line designed especially for tough operating conditions. These tungsten carbide burs are characterized by their exceptional impact resistance and performance. The new cuts are ideal for all uses involving high mechanical shock or impact loads. Susceptibility to tooth chipping/breakage, splintering and bur head cracking has been effectively minimized.

Even when milling at low RPM with an only moderately powerful machine, the occurrence of tooth failures is dramatically reduced.